Wind Rose
by Hecate28
Summary: When a young girl causes trouble in Nottingham it doesn't go unnoticed by Robin and his men
1. North

Wind Rose

(Disclaimer: I own no rights to Robin Hood)

_Summary: When a young girl causes trouble in Nottingham it doesn't go unnoticed by Robin and his men_

"People of Nottingham, this man has been found guilty of conspiring against the king so it is my duty as your Sheriff to bring you justice by sentencing this man to hang"

The Sheriff stood in the courtyard addressing the people of Nottingham town, as he said those final words he grinned nastily to the young man with a bag over his head.

"Guards hang him" he sneered

"No!" a young voice broke through the crowds and all eyes turned trying to find the voice.

From out of the crowd stepped a young girl, she had mouse coloured tussled and her eyes were a deep shade of purple but her appearance was not the thing that everyone was looking at, they were staring at the bow she held ready to fire an arrow.

"Well look who we have here…a hero" the Sheriff laughed sarcastically as he signalled to the guards to move in closer

The girl shuffled her feet nervously as she watched the guards move in "One more step and I'll fire" she said determinedly

"Well la de da de da" the Sheriff mocked and at the moment the young girl fired her arrow only narrowly avoiding his head

"You missed" the Sheriff laughed

"No that was a warning, let him go" she shouted

The Sheriff sneered down at the girl and signalled to the guards "Hang him" he said coldly,

Suddenly another arrow shot through the air and landed in the sheriff's arm, he screamed out in pain and for a minute the young girl felt some vengeance but it was short lived as she saw Guy the sheriff's resident suck up move towards her brandishing a long sharp sword in her direction. He lunged for her but she ducked underneath him, this went on for a while but soon she wasn't quick enough and he grabbed her and held the wriggling girl and all the while she could hear the Sheriff laughing at her.

She kicked with all her might and soon managed to get free of her captor and then she summoned all her strength picked up her bow and ran giving a last solemn to the now still body hanging from the gallows. She ran for what seemed like forever trying to dodge away from the sounds of the guards until she reached the forest where she found a small dip in the landscape to hide in

"Come out come out wherever you are" Guy's bitter tones echoed across the still forest "I won't hurt you I just want to talk to you" and at that point she could hear the scraping of metal as Guy drew his sword. She held her breath and after what seemed like forever Guy gave up and went away. She let out a sigh of relief and turned to continue on her way. As she turned she felt a hand across her mouth

"Don't scream, I am a friend" the voice said and the young girl murmured from under the hand "Do you promise not to scream?" and as she nodded the hand was released and she turned to face the voice. There in front of her stood a tall man with brown hair surveying her closely.

"Who are you?" she asked

"Robin of Locksley, Earl of…"

"Huntington" she finished and he nodded

"So you've heard of me then?"

"Everyone's heard of you" and Robin grinned arrogantly "I never said it was for a good reason" she said curtly and he laughed.

She picked up her bow and set off into the woods

"Where are you going?" Robin called and the girl shrugged, Robin followed after her

"Why are you following me?" she said coldly

"Because it would be unmoral of me to leave a young lady alone in the forest, especially one of such unusual appearance"

"Oh so you noticed" she said closing her purple eyes briefly "Anyway I can look after myself I have this" she said holding up her bow

"Are you any good with it?"

And with that she turned around and quickly fired an arrow only narrowly avoiding Robin's head

"You either have very good aim or very bad aim…" he stuttered searching for a name

"Don't think I'm going to tell you my name" she said boldly but Robin just laughed

"I gave you my name so I think it's only fair"

"Nope that doesn't work either"

"So you're just going to walk through the forest all alone in the night" he said looking up at the sunset.

"Yes and you're going to go back to your gang and leave me alone"

"Yes I'm going to do that but you're coming with me"

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are, we can do this the easy way or the hard way"

"Why do you want me?"

"I want to know why a girl risked her life trying to save a man today and then I want to know what I can do for that girl" Robin said

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Because you are lonely and frightened"

"I am not"

"Yes you are I can see it in your eyes"

Her expression melted and she closed her eyes for a second

"And from that I can tell I'm right" Robin said softly and he walked off into the forest, she paused for a moment and then slowly followed Robin

Back at camp Much was arguing with Will about their dinner arrangements

"Yuck what is that?" Will said screwing his face up at the smell coming from the cooking pot

"That is dinner"

"Are you sure because it looks like…"

"Yes I'm sure and if you don't like it you can eat elsewhere"

A rustling in the clearing brought everyone to their feet but as Robin came into focus they all relaxed and continued with their tasks. Much looked up and saw behind Robin stood a young girl deep purple eyes

"Master…"

"Much…" Robin said raising an eyebrow

The rest of the gang gathered round the new arrival and surveyed her and the girl shrank behind Robin embarrassed at all the attention she was getting

"What's your name?" John said kindly but she scowled back at him.

All the muscles in her body tensed up under the watchful gaze of the group and she stood perfectly still until John took a step towards her and suddenly before he knew it he was faced with a loaded bow.

"Ok you really don't want to do anything you'll regret" Much said slowly his voice quivering

"Much" Robin said

"Master she is armed"

"Much shut up" and Robin stepped in front of John so that his chest was almost touching the arrows tip "Go on shoot me" he said softly so only she could hear

The girl paused for a moment weighing up her choices and after a few minutes she lowered her bow

The others breathed a sigh of relief but Robin looked into the young girls eyes and saw a look of pain and misery mixed with a look of scheming and bitterness, the girls eyes sent a shiver up his spine and as she stood there still holding her bow Robin was unsure of what this girl was up to.


	2. North East

For the rest of that evening the girl just sat there surveying every breath and movement the group made. Eventually Much took Robin to one side.

"Master surely you cannot trust this girl?"

"And why would I not?"

"Master she nearly shot John"

"But she didn't" Robin face was illuminated in the light of the fire and Much could see he had a familiar grin plastered across his face

"But if you were not there then she might have killed him"

"Much I highly doubt that"

"And where is your proof?"

"Just trust me Much" Robin said his grin spreading further across his face.

Back around the main camp, Will had moved over to the young girl in an attempt to befriend her, as he sat down next to her, she tensed ready to pounce and her purple eyes glared up at him with hate and anger. Will looked into her eyes, they were such a deep purple colour; they were almost hypnotic. He shook his head and brought himself back to reality

"Erm…so you didn't really get off on the right foot with everyone earlier…but I'm Will" he stuttered and held out his hand, the girl just turned her head away from him still holding a look of anger and frustration on her face.

A few minutes later Will gave up trying to hold a conversation with the young girl, she was clearly not a people person and he moved back towards the rest of the group. They all watched her carefully she sat there on her own watching the fire dance about in the darkness, her purple eyes intensely watching the flickering flame. She was fingering something in her pocket but no of them could see what it was and so eventually they gave up and fell asleep.

After the last of the group had fallen asleep the young girl stood up silently, collected her things and walked out into the darkness. She to a solid route through the forest never straying from the direction in which she was travelling, only occasionally stopping to check her pocket to see if it was still there and then she would continue walking at a considerable pace through the forest through the darkness of the night.

The next morning Robin woke early and yawned as he surveyed the forest, he looked around the camp and saw all of his gang sleeping, everyone was there…except the girl she had gone!, Robin sighed and shook his head _How could he be so stupid to let her go?_. Much stirred in his sleep and Robin went over to shake him

"Much, Much wake up!"

"Master?" Much said grogglily

"Much she's gone"

"Who?" he murmured

"The girl"

And those few words made Much sit bolt upright all traces of tiredness gone from his face "Gone where?" he asked alarmed as he realised that if she was not in sight then they could have a repeat of yesterday

"I'm not sure" Robin said gazing around the forest with some hope of spotting her "Come on lets go" he said getting up

"Go where?" Much said nervously, Robin had that look in his eyes again and it meant trouble

"To find her" and with that Robin took off into the forest and Much ran to catch up with him.

The two men trudged through the forest keeping an eye out all the time for the young girl; they did not want a repeat of yesterday. They stopped under a tall tree for a moments rest and immediately regretted it. Suddenly arrows came firing down at the and both men had to duck and dive out of the way

"I thought I told you to leave me alone" a voice snapped and Robin looked up; there on the high branches sat a young girl, her brown hair tied up and her dress was slightly torn, she held a bow loaded with an arrow ready to fire and her purple eyes blazed down at me

"Master" Much warned as Robin took a step closer to the tree and immediately dodged out of the way as an arrow narrowly avoided his head

"We mean no harm" he said looking cautiously up at the young girl

"Like I'm going to believe that" the young girl hissed

"We both mean no harm, we are good men, and you said you'd heard of me"

"I also said it wasn't for a good reason" and Robin laughed "That was not a joke" the young girl continued

"You could at least tell me your name" he called up

"No" she shouted back as another arrow came firing down

"Why not?"

"Because a name can give away a thousand secrets" and Robin gasped as he heard those words

"Master?" Much asked ducking to avoid another arrow

"I've heard that before…I should have known the purple eyes were a give away!"

"Master are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I know who you are" he called up at the girl ignoring Much's warnings

"Who am I then?" said the girl mockingly

"Oaks"

The girl paused "That is my families name not my name"

"True...but it tells me a bit about you"

"Like what?" the girl said suspiciously

"Well any self respecting man has heard of the famous mapmaker and explorer William Oaks and that would explain how you know where you're going, you must have his blood in your veins and you have his eyes" Robin called up

"Well congratulations you've heard of him"

"And I can assume from your attitude that you are defiantly a relation and I know from my knowledge that he has four daughters the youngest that is around your age"

"Anyone could tell you those details"

"And I can also tell you that William gave each of his daughters a wind rose, he designed himself and he also gave them a compass rose so they would never got lost"

"What you mean this" she said throwing an object down to him "I don't need it; I know where I'm going"

Robin caught the object and looked at it, the small gem glistened in the rising sun and as he looked closer he could see the intricate design on the wind rose set around the eight points of the compass, in the middle was a red rose "You say you wont give your name away but you just have, you see your father was in the Holy Lands as a mapmaker and I was his apprentice for a while and I studied his works and I know the markings of a wind rose and from this…" he studied the object closer "…I can tell that you must be Rosie!"

A final arrow came shooting down towards his head and he only just dodged out the way in time "I'm right aren't I?"

"So what if you are?"

"Well if you are the daughter of a famous explorer and mapmaker then we could do with your help"

"And why would I help you"

"Because I know that William was killed recently and that he didn't do any of the things he was accused of and I know that you were at his hanging and you tried to stop it and nearly got killed yourself and I now know that you have no family left"

The girl paused taking in all that Robin said

"So what do you say, do you want to join me and my gang?"

The girl stayed silent weighing up her choices "My father spoke of you before he died, he said that your were a good man and if I were ever in trouble I should go and find you" and Robin grinned but the girl frowned and continued "But he also said that you were arrogant and egotistic" and Robin laughed

"That sounds like William" he said

Rosie slowly climbed down from the tree and Robin passed her back her compass rose

"Is that a yes?" he asked

"It's an I'll see how it goes" she said picking up her scattered arrows as Much came out from behind a tree

"Rosie Oaks" he said "Well at least we know your name"

"A name can give away many secrets if spoken often" she said

"Do you speak from experience" Robin asked but Rosie checked her compass rose and just walked of into the woods and Robin got the feeling that she knew more than she was letting on, there was something in those purple eyes that was yet to be discovered, something dangerous that could cause ruin to him and the ones he loved.


	3. East

Robin watched the young girl who was sitting on the forest floor pouring over a map, he smiled as he remembered William with the same expression on his face, the eyes focused lapping up the lines and colours of the map, and the tip of a tongue poking out from the mouth in concentration.

Will came over and stood beside Robin "How long has she been doing that?" he asked after watching her for a few minutes

"All day" Robin smiled "She truly is her father's daughter"

Suddenly a rustling of leaves brought everyone to their attention; Djaq and Much came tearing into the clearing gasping for breath

"A carriage…on the north road" Much wheezed

"Ok men lets get going oh sorry Djaq" Robin smiled as her saw the look on the woman's face

Everyone jumped into action grabbing the necessary equipment and when Robin looked down at the young girl, her saw her eyes were no longer on the map but they were focusing on him, the colour of them always struck robin; they were a deep purple and almost hypnotising to look at, he walked over to her and crouched down beside her. He felt her body tense as he did this

"We're going come on" he said gently

"Where?" she asked curiously

"To serve justice" Robin grinned and Rosie cleared up her things and carefully tucked her Wind rose close to her body and followed him.

After a while they stopped and Robin led her behind a tree

"There" he pointed at a carriage being pulled by horse trotting gently through the peaceful forest and without a further thought Robin signalled to the others and they sprang into action.

Rosie stayed crouched behind a tree, her purple eyes surveying every move.

First of all Robin halted the carriage whilst the other men circled around it then he shouted something about saving the rich from themselves and he ushered everyone out of the carriage whilst the rest of his group searched them for riches, after a few minutes this bizarre activity was done and he sent the carriage on it's way.

Robin sprinted up the hill towards Rosie grinnig "Well what do you think?"

"That was unmoral"

"We're helping the poor"

"Yes but you really didn't need to be that rough with them" Rosie frowned

"A bit of roughness never hurt anyone"

"Robin of Locksley you are the single most arrogant, egotistic, conceited man I have ever met you are also stupidly over confident" she sighed and Robin laughed as the girl walked off into the forest

Later on at the camp Robin was searching through the goods they had got from that days raid, he found money which he stored in a tree trunk along with the jewels and silks they would later use to help the poor. He then came across a few roles of parchment and as he unrolled them he gasped.

"Am I right?" he asked as Rosie poured over the maps

"I'm afraid so there's no mistaking the mark"

"What's wrong" asked Much

"These maps bear the symbol of the black knights" Rosie sighed

"What does that mean?"

"This means that the black knights have got hold of the mapmakers who made them maps the king uses in the holy lands and this means they'll know where he's going to land" Rosie sighed

"How can you tell?" Much asked

Rosie pointed to the first scroll "the map is written in scarlet ink and uses a phoenix wind rose which is the marking of the explorer John of stoke, this one uses intricate lettering and a star wind rose which is the marking of the mapmaker Richard of Essex and this one…"

"What's wrong" Robin asked

"Uses my wind rose" Rosie sighed

"I don't understand"

"If they have my marking, then they have my father's work which means they have all his secrets and if the black knights are transporting them to the Sheriff then we're all in trouble"

"What should we do?"

"We need to get them back" Robin said with a sudden tone of fierceness

As Robin launched into setting a plan Rosie looked at her fathers map and sighed, this was not good news and she dreaded what was going to happen to her


	4. South East

Rosie walked back to where she had been sleeping, sat down and put her head in her hands, she could hear Robin putting a plan into action and she groaned.

Much came over and sat down next to her "I feel like that every time I hear he has a plan"

"It's not that" Rosie said softly

"Then what's wrong?"

"Robin doesn't know what he's getting himself into…" she sighed

"He's experienced and he wont put anyone in danger, he'd give his life if it meant that the king will return safely" and Rosie nodded

Much smiled at the girl and went to join the rest of the group.

Rosie sat there for a while deep in thought and so she didn't even notice Robin sit down beside her

"Shilling for your thought?" he said and Rosie jumped "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you"

"I know what you're going to ask me and the answer is no" she said bitterly

"Please…"

"No!"

"You're the only one who knows every line on those maps, we need you with us"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous, stupid and you're going to get yourself killed"

"Apart from that?"

"Oh nothing else" she said sarcastically

"Good, we leave in an hour"

"I never said I was coming" she shouted as he walked away from her, but he just turned around and grinned at her "Robin of Locksley you are the most impudent person I have ever met!" she shouted as she ran after him.

A little while later, they were all walking through the forest towards the castle, Rosie had a permanent scowl across her face since Robin had made his plan

"Cheer up it might never happen" Robin joked but Rosie just ignored him

"What did you say to her?" Djaq asked

"Nothing!" said Robin "She's just a teenager, it's in their nature to be in a bad mood"

"I heard that!" Rosie shouted back shooting Robin a dirty look.

Soon they were outside the castle walls and Robin was going over the plan one more time

"So you all know what to do?" he asked and they all nodded "Tell me"

"I go with you and Will and we find the room" said Much and Robin nodded

"I'll break into the room and signal to Rosie that we're in safely" Robin nodded again

"I'm posing as a stable girl and above the stables is where the room is" said Rosie "Then I'll come into the room with you and we'll get the maps and go"

"And me and Djaq act as your lookouts" said John and Robin nodded

"Good…lets go and get those maps back"

Rosie walked round to the stables and got herself in a good position so she could hear Will's signal, she busied herself grooming one of the horses. Suddenly she heard a voice that struck fear in her

"Stable girl!" shouted Guy of Gisbourne, Rosie froze unsure of what to do "Stable girl!" Guy bellowed

"Yes sir" she appeared round the corner keeping her face hidden as best as possible

"Get me a horse saddled up now" he shouted

"Yes sir" she said keeping her face covered

As she finished saddling up the horse, Guy mounted it and looked down at her

"Hang on do I know you?" he asked

"No sir" she said willing him to stop this conversation "I'm new"

Guy was about to say something else when the Sheriff's voice pierced through the air

"Gisbourne!" and with that he rode off without giving a seconds thought to the girl

Rosie breathed a sigh of relief and at that moment she heard Will's signal; two low whistled notes, with that Rosie sprang into action and started the climb up to the room, as she got higher she could see Will's face smiling down at her

"Hey" he said as he pulled her in

"Hey" she grinned

"Ok you two lets get to work, Rosie you know what you're looking for" said Robin

Rosie set about looking for all the maps they needed, it was a long and difficult task but after a while they had found all the maps and were preparing to leave

"Ok let's go" Robin ushered them out of the door

The four of them crept down the corridors keeping a watchful eye for any guards which might break the peace; they were almost out when Allan.A.Dale stepped out in front of them

"Going somewhere?" he asked

"Allan get out the way" Robin said bitterly

"No you see mate, I'm not being funny but if I let you go then I'm going to get killed" he said as the guards circled around them. Will grabbed Rosie's hand and pulled her out the way and dragged her along fighting the guards along the way.

Soon they were free and into the courtyard and being followed by many guards

"Split up!" Robin yelled and everyone scattered in different directions

Rosie ran as fast as she could but when she looked over her shoulder she realised that all the guards were following her.

All the other gang had met up on top of the hill but when they looked over they saw that they had been tricked

"It's a trap" Robin shouted "They wanted her all along, the maps were of no importance, she was what they wanted"

"Robin we have to help her" Will shouted as he took off after her.

Will was in metres of reaching her when both him and Rosie were surrounded by armed guards

"Guards take the girl" Gisbourne shouted

"What about the other one" one guard asked

"Take him too; we can get her to talk then"

The guards roughly grabbed both of them and marched the off towards the castle.

Will looked back at the young girl; her purple eyes full of fear, he gave her a weak smile and she tried to smile back in return but both of them knew how much danger they were in.

Back on the ground lay the shattered pieces of a wind rose.


	5. South

Rosie and Will were lead roughly into the main hall of the castle and there stood the Sheriff sneering down at them.

"Well, well, well what do we have here then? Robin Hood's workforce" he spat as he leaned in towards Rosie's face "And you Missy, the hero of the hour, well you made a big mistake when you fired that bow at me and now you are going to pay" he snarled as he struck her across the face.

The blow took Rosie by surprise and she was flung across the room and landed with a thud on the hard stone floor.

"Rosie!" screamed Will as he tried to lash out at the guards who were holding him "You monster!" he bellowed at the sheriff

"You think I'm the monster well we're only just getting started…Gisbourne!" the Sheriff shouted and in came Guy of Gisbourne with a sneer on his face as he looked down at Rosie who was lying on the floor shaking with fear

"Yes my lord?"

"Gisbourne you know what to do, don't stop until you get answers"

"And what about the boy?" he said gesturing to Will

"Leave him here; he seems to have an attachment to the girl which we can use to our advantage"

And with that the Sheriff left the room leaving the pair alone with Gisbourne who looked down on them with an evil grin on his face. He strode over to Rosie and wrenched her up and turned her to face Will

"Now you will tell me about the maps and about your dear friend Robin Hood, otherwise your girl here gets it"

"No Will don't tell him anything!" Rosie shouted and was answered with a blow from Gisbourne

"Tell me!" he screamed as he towered over Rosie and put his foot on her chest, "How much more can you take before you give in?" he snarled at Rosie who writhed in pain underneath him

"Ok!" Will shouted "I'll tell you just stop hurting her" and with that Gisbourne released a tiny amount of pressure off the young girl

"Go on…"

"Her father made maps which the king used in the holy lands and which he will use to plan his route back to England but only she knows how to read them as they are encoded with signs that only someone who knew the works of Oaks well could read, you don't have all of the maps so you can't have all the plans" Will said solemnly

"And as for Hood?"

"He's in the forest; he worked with Oaks so he knows a bit now leave her alone!" Will cried

Gisbourne nodded and pulled Rosie to her feet and began to leave the room but not before giving a final blow to Rosie which knocked her unconscious.

When Rosie finally opened her eyes she couldn't quite remember where she was, then it dawned on her. The dripping of water and pungent air meant she was in the dungeons. She looked up and saw Will's worried face peering down at her

"Hey" she murmured

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he said cradling her in his arms

"Like I just got run over with a horse" she laughed gently "Why are we down here?"

"The Sheriff sentenced us to punishment for communing with an outlaw"

"What punishment?"

"I'm not sure yet but if I know the Sheriff it's not going to be nice"

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry"

"What for?"

"For acting like a coward and giving away all the secrets"

"Will Scarlet you are not a coward, you came after me and you just saved my life, you are far from a coward you are a hero!"

And at that moment the pair looked each in the eyes and slowly leaned in until they were nearly touching and the pair shared true loves kiss and in the gloomy confinements of a dungeon the strength of someone's love is enough to see you through these dark and dreary times


	6. South West

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long for me to update this. I've been having a bit of trouble moving the plot on and i have way too many unfinished stories and i keep starting new ones!!. Anyway enough of me blabbering on lets get on with the story.

* * *

"Robin what's the plan then?" Much asked looking worried.

The gang had fled to a safe point after the guards came for them and had watched in horror as Will and Rosie were dragged away by the Sherrif's men. Rosie's screams of terror still haunted Robin's ears

"We're going to get them out of there" Robin said trying to hide his grim expression

"But how..."

"I don't know. But what i do know is that Will and Rosie are not children and they are two very resourceful people and if anyone knows how to look after themselves it'll be Rosie and Will"

"But she doesn't even have this" Much said cradleing the pieces of the broken wind rose

"She doesn't need it. She's smarter than you think and after all she's William Oak's daughter. She doesn't need a wind rose to guide her. It's in her blood. William's blood runs in her veins and as long as she has that, she has a fighting chance" Robin said standing up

"Where are we going?" Much asked following him

"To reunite as outlaws, as friends and as the fighters for justice and freedom" Robin shouted as his words echoed round the forest "Rosie don't you dare give up on us now, you may not have your wind rose but the one in your heart burns stronger than a fire"

* * *

Back in the sherrifs dungeons Rosie was back on her feet with a new found energy that even Will was surprised by. She was pacing around the cell racking her brains in thought

"Rosie for gods sake stop pacing" Will said for what felt like the hundredth time that hour

"Sorry i'm trying to think" Rosie said flashing Will a grin which made him melt inside

"Of what?"

"A way to get us out of here"

"Robin's coming for us"

"Will it'sbeen five hours and he's not come, we need to get out of here. We know what the sherrif's capable of already" she said wincing as Will touched one of the forming bruises

"Sorry" he said moving his hand

"It's fine" she said holding his hand as he went to drop it "We're going to get out of here Will, just you wait and see" she said with a cheeky grin

"Rosie whenever you get that look in your eye it worries me" Will said looking nervous

But Rosie just grinned and went to the bars of the cell

"Oh Gisbourne" she shouted but there was no response

"Rosie..." Will warned

"Ooh Gizzy" she shouted ignoring Will's warning but there was no response

"OY LEATHER WEARING GREASE BUCKET" she bellowed and this time she got a response

"I warned you to be quiet" Gisbourne said stroming in the room

"Yeah well i have issues with quiet" Rosie said looking at Will "He'll vouch for me" she said giving Will a wink

"Yeah believe me she never shus up, she's got the biggest mouth in England" Will said catching on

"A little harsh Will" she whispered

"Sorry" he blushed

"Anyway as i have such a gift of the gab i thought we could do a little trade Gizzy"

"That's Sir Guy of Gisbourne to you"

"Yeah whatever anyway deary i thought that we could to a little deal"

"What kind of deal"

"Well you are evidently aware of who my father is so how about i tell you all his secrets if you let me and handsome over here go" she said gesturing to Will who blushed a deeper red

"We don't need your secrets"

"Oh yes you do"

"And whys that?"

"Because on the maps your prosed from my fathers stone dead body there are markings and you don't know what they mean"

"And you do?"

"Deary i'm William Oak's daughter, i pratically eat maps for breakfast, they're a good surce of nutrition"

"I don't need your help Oaks, we know enough already and tommorow at sundown you and your little friend will suffer the same fate as dear old daddy" Gisbourne snarled as he stormed out of the room

"Well where did that get us?" Will said angrily

"Will do you remember when you first met me and you were talking to me by the camp fire and i did not speak?"

"Yeah" Will said softly all the anger draining out of him as he hung on to Rosie's every word

"I did not speak because i learnt that speech can give away many secrets"

"Yes but you just blabbered on"

"Yes but Will, Gisbourne talked back to me and if he was so sure of himself he would have just dismissed me. Tjose symbols on the map mean nothing they are mearly just artwork designed to entice the bearer into the detail of the map but now i have put doubt on dear old Gizzy's head"

"You made him drop his guard" Will continued

"And he didn't notice me take these" Rosie said holding up a binch of keys

"Rosie are they what i think they are?"

"Yes" she said grinning

"Rosie you stole from Gisbourne" Will gasped both in shock and admiration

"Now i don't agree with stealing but in special circumstances i think we can get away with it"

"You're crazy that was such a risky plan" Will said hugging her

"But we did it and all i can say is that Rosie Oak's is back on form" she laughed

"Rosie that's the first time i have seen you laugh" Will smiled

"Will i have been through a lot but it's made me stronger and now i have someone worth bring happy about" she said embracing Will

"Rosie you are one of a kind"

"Oh i know" she laughed "Now all we have to do is get out of here" she said checking to see if the coast is clear. She turned around to face Will and there was somthing in those hypnotic purple eyes that Will had never seen before. It was like there was somthing that had been lifited from her shoulders and now she could be who she really was again. Rosie Oaks was as free as the wind.


	7. West

A/N Ta-dah i am on a roll here ( i know another chapter) with the little plot bunnies bouncing away three cheers for the plot bunnies!! Oh and by the way the whole Will/Djaq relationship thingy never happend. He's all Rosie's mwahahaha!! :-)

* * *

Rosie pushed the key in the lock and turned it quietly so it did not echo in the deep dark dungeon. After a bit of brute for the key finally turned and the door opened. Rosie stepped out and turned to Will with a triumphant girn

"Ta-dah!" She said with her gentle song like laugh "Now let's get out of here"

"That's the best thing you've said all day" Will said grinning

"What even better than calling old Gizzy a leather wearing grease bucket?"

"Oh no that was pretty good as well" he said winking and Rosie could feel herself turning bright _"I am going to need a dip in a cold lake after this!" _She thought

"Come on lets go" she said taking the lead up the stone steps "Right where are we?" she said as they turned into another corridor

"You said you knew where you were going" Will said suddenly looking very worried

"I do..." she said turning to face him

"You're lost aren't you" he said raising an eyebrow

"_God he looks cute when he does that" _Rosie thought then realised she had her mouth hanging wide open "No...me lost not at all" she said snapping her mouth shut "More in a tempory halted flux of the process of being genreally misplaced which can and will be resolved very very soon...hopefully" she added on the end

"I thought you were susposed to be a mapmakers daughter!"

"Yeah but sometimes i have issues with direction..."

"Oh great time for it Rosie" he said sarcastically

"You are so cute when you're annoyed" she gushed and Will looked at her "And oh my god i just said that out loud" she said turning fuchsia.She gave a little embarrased cough and then said "It's this way, on the right" and pointed

"Rosie that's left"

"Yeah...i so knew that" she said looking flustered as they turned the corner and walked straight into the path of five guards

"Oh frogs legs!" Rosie cursed "Maybe it was the other way"

"Great now you realise" Will said as they tried to run but were cornered by more guards "We don't even have weapons"

"Yeah well you know i told you about that tempory halted flux?"

"What about it?"

"Well it migth be a little more permenant..." she gulped

"I wouldn't be on it Rosie" came a voice and she whirled around and saw Robin and the gang standing behind the guards with they're weapons drawn "Here catch" he said as he threw Rosie her bow and Will his axe

"What the heck took you so long?" Rosie shouted as the guards circled them

"Well we're here now aren't we" Robin shouted back

"Oh well we were doing just fine without you thank you very much" Rosie said kicking a guard in a place that made every man in the room cringe

"Yeah evidently and being surrounded by guards was what?"

"A tempory state of unwanted social contact" Rosie yelled

"Rosie you know when i said you had the biggest mouth in England?" Will called with a grin

"Don't make me come over there Will Scarlett" She said sticking her tongue out at him as she kicked a guard in the face.

Suddenly Will was surrounded by two guards and fought them off in an impressive mannor and when he turned round he saw Rosie quickly re-position her eyes

"Nice view?" Robin asked as he saw the pair's expression

"Not bad" Rosie winked "Could do with a bit more work though"

"Hey i am still here you know" Will called

After a while the alarm had been raised in the castle and more guards come pouring in through the corridors and soon Will and Rosie were figthing back to back

"Rosie i wanted to ask you somthing" Will shouted over his shoulder

"Oh please go in Will, this is really the best time" she called back sarcastically

"Well Rosie ever since i met you, i fell in love with you" he said ignoring her sarcasm

"Thanks Will but really not the best time..."

"Well if i don't say it now i'll never say it" he said kicking a guard

"Fine but you really choose a time and a place" she said firing her bow

"Ok...Roise Oaks will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" Will shouted

"Will seriously you choose this time to propose to me?" Rosie yelled

"Well i thought the time was right you know out of somthing bad blossoms somthing good, you know love beats evil so Rosie will you marry me?"

"Will" she said elbowing a guard "Of course i will but next time you want to be romantic choose a better time and place" she said kicking a guard out of the way to kiss him

"What's happening over your side?" Robin yelled from down the corridor

"Erm...well me and Will just got engaged" she shouted back

"Seriously you chose this moment to propose" Much said kicking a guard but keeping his eyes on them

"Yeah well i think it's romantic" Rosie said defending Will

"You changed your tune" Will said turning his head to glace at her

"Well Will after we get married you will remember this as the first and last argument you ever won with me" she said giving him a gentle nudge in the ribs and moving off to fight another guard.

Soon all the guards were down and the gang stood there panting for breath. Rosie walked past Will and gave him a pinch on the bottom before picking up some of her arrows. Will meawhile had suddely resembled the colour of a tomato.

Rosie was so deep in thought thinknig of the life that she and Will would so have that she didn't see Gisbourne come up behind Will and pull a sword to his thorat. When he yelled she turned around and screamed "Let him go you monster!!" she went to run at Gisbourne but Robin held her back

"What is it that you want Gisbourne?" Robin said drawing himself up to full height

"I want a lot of things Hood" he sneered "But mainly i want her dead" he ponited a Rosie and Rosie suddenly felt all eyes on her.

"Let him go Gisbourne, it's over" Robin said firmly

"I want the girl" he said pressing the sword closer to Will

"Let him go please Gisbourne" Rosie pleaded with tears running down her face

"And if i do?"

"Then i will walk willlingly to my death at sundown tommorow as long as he is not harmed"

"You lied before how can i trust you?" Gisbourne snarled

"Because i swear it on my love for Will that i will quite willingly be hanged at sundown. I love this man and if i have to save his life by sacrificing my own then so be it because our love is stronger than anything you throw at us. I love him so that i will throw down my life in the face of your eivl and sinister grasp if it means he is free"

"Rosie no!" Will shouted as the tears rolled down his face

"Rosie think about this" Robin said with an urgent tone

"If i go and face my death will you let him go now at this very moment i have your word do i not?"

"If you choose your life over his then i can only pity you but yes you have my word"

"Please Rosie" Will begged as Gisbourne released him and she walked past him

"Will Scarlet know that i did this all for you and know that by saving your life i know that our lovee will go on forever but i could not live with myself if i saw you harmed so please Will promise me you Will think of me now and again" she cried

"I will never love anyone else" Will said "I cannot live without you"

"Will, you must otherwise my sacrifice will be for nothing and i do not wish for you to be harmed" she said embracing him "Will Scarlett my bold and dashing hero i love you forever and always"

"How very touching" Gisobourne sneered as he dragged Rosie from Will's grasp

"I love you Roise" WIll cried as he saw his love dragged down a dark and dismal corriodo and he fell into Robin's arms and cried a sorrow that only a lover could cry


	8. North West

Rosie lay in the dungeon and wept torrents of tears which dripped onto the cold stone floor. She cried for her sisters and there gruesome fate at the Sheriff's hands, she cried for her mother she never knew, she cried for her father and his brutal death as he fought the wrath of the Sheriff but most of all she wept for the love of her darling Will. The only man who gave her something to live for and she had given it up for him to not see him harmed. She cried and cried until she fell asleep and she dreamed of Will calling her name over and over again.She woke with a start and from the bars of her dungeon she saw it was day break. She saw the sun rise and sighed as she knew when it set again so would she.

"Rosie..." the voice came again and Rosie jumped. _Could it e that she was not dreaming and Will was here?._ Rosie ran over to the bars and saw sure enough that Will Scarlett was standing on the grounds far below her

"Will" she whispered in delight and her heart swelled with joy

"Have they hurt you?"

"No Will i am fine what are you doing here?"

"I have come to warn you, the Sheriff will kill you as soon as the sun is up"

"But he said sunset"

"Rosie you may have kept to your promise but he has not kept to his"

"Frog's legs and bumble bee wings" Rosie cursed and Will smiled "_At least the Rosie i know and love is still there even if i can't get to her"_

"Robin has a plan Rosie, you'll be free and we'll be married before you know" Will smiled

"Oh Will i wish that were true but the sun is nearly up and..."

"Rosie don't you dare give up, where's the Rosie who got caught trying to save others. where's the Rosie who shouted in the face of evil and stole his keys and where's the Rosie who would lay down her life so she could save another?"

"She is here but she's..."

"...In a temporary halted flux of confusion which will be change very soon when she gets rescued and married" Will said cutting off sentence

"Somthing like that" Rosie laughed

"Rosie i promise i will get you out of here" Will said

Suddenly Rosie heard Gisbourne coming "Will get out of here Dizzy Gizzy is coming!!" she laughed though there was a slight tone of panic in her voice

"Rosie i will get you out of this" Will said turning to leave

"You'd betrer or you are going to ger serioulsly haunted" and from that Will knew he'd got the real Rosie back.

"Well well well Oaks today's the day that your pretty little neck gets to snap.Ah that's music to my ears" Gisbourne hissed

"Thank you Gizzy, i do have a lovely neck than you for pointing that out. You are too kind" She said sarcastically with a big smile.

"And i only have to listen to your pathetic babbling for a few minutes longer" he said as he roughly pulled her out of the cells.

Rosie's hands were tied together with rough rope which cut into her as she walked into the courtyard where the sun was already high in the sky. A crowd of people had gathered to watch some looked visibly sick, some looked excited and some looked shocked to see such a girl face the gallows. Gisbourne pushed her up the steps and she tripped on the last one. She fell on the wooden platform with a thud and Gisbourne dragged her up by a few locks of her mousy coloured hair. She winced in pain but did not say a word, she was not going to give Gisbourne the pleasure.

The Sherrif stood high on the platform sneering down at Roise. "People of Nottigham you may remember not long ago we hanged a traitor to the king and this little wretch tried to stop it and failed...and now it seems that bad blood runs through a generation, so we have to take care of the bad apples of our lands. A whole family needed to be removed and then there was one left. And now you can witness this glorious moment where the sins of our society will rid the world of this wretched foul mouth little fiend".

The Sheriff carried on for another five minutes and Rosie knew he was doing this to drawn out the punsihment further and further like he had done for hedr father.Rosie looked up to the gallows and retched as she remembered the thought of her father's body swinging to and fro as she had been too late to save him._I'm sorry father, I'm sorry i failed you but i will not fail again _she thought bitterly. The next thing she knew she was being pulled to her feet and a noose was put around her neck and tightened,she was led to the platform and she could hear the creak as she walked over the trapdoor which was soon to give way under the ground she stood on.

"Any last words" the Sheriff laughed nastily

"Yes actually" she said trying to be brave "People of Nottingham know that i am doing this for the man i love because i will lay down my life in the hands of this evil if it means he is not harmed. He has giving me something to live for and know this my fellow people there is always something worth hanging onto in the darkness and in these dismal times all you need is someone that will love you and stay loyal to you and he has her. He will always have her because i love him" she cried

"How very touching" the Sheriff mocked "Guards kill her" he sneered

Rosie stood on the platform waiting for it to give way. A guard place a bag over her head and she inhaled the dusty smell of the fabric and could almost taste the tears wept of the thousands of men and women who had suffered the cruel fate.Suddenly Rosie felt the ground under her feet give way and her stomach lurched as she felt her body drop. Her legs flaied about madly and she could feel the noose digging into her neck. Then suddenly she felt the rope give way and she fell to the floor. She could hear a commotion around and then a pair of strong hands pull at the ropes holding her. The hands removed the bag and she squinted in the rising sun. Leaning over her looking worried was the one man which could make it better. Will embraced her and cradled her in his arms. She looked over to the top of a building and saw Robin had been the one to fire the arrow and set her free. Her purple eyes blazed thoughts of thank you's and she was sure Robin understood.

"Rosie come on" Will said gently lifting her up

"Will you said you'd come" she gushed

"Yeah well it wouldn't be the best start to a marriage if I'd just left you there" he smiled softly

"Come on you two we need to get out of here" Robin yelled

Will and Rosie with a new found strength fought there way through the guards to the gates which they got through just as Robin had lowered them. They stood for a moment watching the frustration of a sheriff and his evil men as another life had been set free. Today was a day where justice had prevailed and love had come through stronger than ever.

Rosie turned to Robin and said "Thank you Sir you saved my life, all over you, i cannot thank you enough" she said to all the gang holding Will's hand tight

"Anyway enough of the touchy-feely stuff we have a weeding to go to" Much cried and the gang rode off on horseback Rosie sitting behind Will holding him like she was never going to let go. Like they were bonded forever in a lovers embrace.


	9. Wind rose

Rosie stood in the forest as a gentle summer breeze teased around her shoulders. She adjusted the band of flowers the weaved into her mousy hair and she smoothed down her dress.

"Wow you look...you look..." and Rosie turned to see Much gawping at her

"Like a girl for the first time in my life" She laughed "If my father were to see this he would surely faint in shock" it was a joke but he could hear the pain on her voice

"He would be proud of you" Robin said entering and looking at her in admiration "And nothing gives me greater pleasure as the rightful Earl of Huntington to marry you and Will under the Oaks of the forest"

"Very fitting" Rosie laughed as she picked up her flowers

"Ready?" Much said taking her arm

"As I'll ever be" Rosie said as she,Much and Robin walked over to the clearing which had been decorated for this special occasion.

Rosie gasped in awe as she saw what had been done. Among the great Oak trees hung ribbons and flowers of deep purple. They dance in the summer breeze. There standing smiling was John, Djaq and Marion, who Rosie had met earlier that day. Each were wearing a purple flower pinned to their clothes thought John looked slightly uncomfortable about it.

Robin gave Rosie a gentle smile and walked up the make shift aisle where she could see the back of the man she was going to marry. She looked at walk over to the others and she smiled at the and she began her walk up the aisle. Near the top she saw Will turn around and flush deep red as he saw her and she bowed her head in modesty.

"You look amazing" he gushed

"So do you" she smiled

"Ready?" Robin asked

"Yeah" they replied in unison and Robin grinned

"Ladies and Gentleman we are gathered here today to witness the bond that these two lovers share and will now make holy. Will Scarlett do you take Rosie Oaks to be your wife?"

"I do" he grinned

"And do you Rosie Oaks take Will Scarlett to be your husband?"

"I do" she ginned

"Then under the watchful eyes of these witnesses i now pronounce thee man and wife. You may now kiss the bride" Robin smiled.

Will smiled and leaned down to kiss Rosie tenderly on the lips. The kiss was pure and passionate and the others cheered and whooped as they watched the embrace. When they pulled away Rosie turned and threw her flowers to see who would catch them. Marion caught them at looked at Robin who turned red and Rosie raised her eyebrows and laughed as she saw Marion's expression.

As Will and Roise walked down the aisle Roise could feel the breeze tease her hair and she pulled out her wind rose which Will had fixed for her. She held it up in the summer sun it shone and the glass relfected a light which shone on the two lovers faces.

The summer breeze blew again and the wind rose spun in Rosie's hand and cold see her compass rose clearly

"So where to?" Will asked

"Any direction we want, north,south,east,west as long as we're together we can go anywhere" she smiled


	10. Epilogue

One year later

Roise stood over a wicker craddle and gently picked up the little baby girl and smiled down as the baby gurgled.

"She looks more and more like you every day" she turned and saw Will stnading behind her spinning his axe

"Will, watch the axe around her i don't want her to get any ideas" Roise said looking alarmed

"Rosie believe me she doesn't need any encourgement she's your daughter!" Will laughed as he tickled the baby.

The little baby girl had Will's dark brown hair but if you looked closely you could see she had Rosie's deep purple eyes which glowed in the saw way when she laughed or cried.

"Is that a reflection on me?" Rosie smiled

"Of course not dear" Will said kissing Roise

"Have you two thought of a name yet" Robin said comnig up behind them as Roise laid the baby down in the craddle

"Do you want to tell him?" Will asked Roise and she nodded

"We're going to call her Lilly" Rosie smiled

"A symbol of purity and beauty" Robin smiled "It's lovely"

"It also is a symbol of innocence but if she's going to be anything like Rosie well..." Will laughed as Rosie gently hit him

"Yeah i can tell this one's going to be a handful" Robin laughed as he and Will walked back into the forest

"Yeah and Lilly might be as well" Will joked.

Roise sat down beside the craddle and pulled out somthing from her pocket "Lilly this is for you, i made it for you and only you. It's your own wind rose" she said let the trinket spin as the baby reached up for it "Now you're never going to get lost again and you know that you will always have somthing to depend on and your wind rose was made in love of you. Just like mine was" she said fingering hers in her pocket.

The baby gurgled up at her and Roise smiled and looked around the flower filled forest and lifted her head to the breeze and she could almost hear the a song playing in the breeze. It was a song of hope,love and freedom. It was the song of the wind rose.


End file.
